September 26th 2015

Information posted on September 26th 2015 at 12:15
News from Stagecoach South West includes several internal transfers with 15868 moving from Barnstaple to Exeter, 17055 from Barnstaple to Plymouth and 17056 from Torquay to Plymouth with 10864/65 transferring from Exeter to Barnstaple and 18067 from Exeter to Torquay. The recent transfer of three Optare Versas to Stagecoach West has seen them replaced by Dart SLFs 34729 at Chard and 34776/77 at Barnstaple. Only four Dart SLFs were transferred to this fleet from Stagecoach Manchester with 33865 going to Plymouth and the other three, 33870/74/76, being allocated to Exeter. The planned allocation of Optare Solo 47085 to Plymouth did not take place and it remains in the Reserve Fleet with 47576 taking its place at Plymouth.
At Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire, ADL E40D/Enviro 400 demonstrator 80027, which is fitted with stop/start technology and carries Stagecoach corporate livery, has been returned to ADL. Vehicles returned to service at Birkenhead are 17111/13  and 18149. Enviro 400 19062 has transferred from Birkenhead to Chester. Dart SLF 34743 has transferred from Chorley to Gillmoss and Optare Solos 47336/37 have moved form Chorley to Preston with 47709 moving from the main fleet at Preston into the Reserve Fleet. Preston has also received Dart SLF 34741 from Chester. 34742 from Chester is now at Birkenhead along with 34599 from the Reserve Fleet. Tridents 17019/21, 17448, 17549  are now allocated to Gillmoss along with 17452/99 and 17500 which are on loan from Stagecoach Manchester. Training fleet Volvo B10M 20602 has been taken out of use and is now for disposal, whilst placed into the Reserve Fleet at Birkenhead are Volvo B10BLEs 21116/19/22.
At Stagecoach Manchester Dart SLFs 33871/73/75 have surprisingly been reported as being returned to service at Ashton. We are frequently asked why vehicles in the Stagecoach Reserve Fleets are often seen in regular service. The Reserve Fleet provides depots with a number of vehicles which, whilst not part of the depot allocation, are available for service. Their use may be to cover other vehicles which are off the road for repairs, repainting or maintenance inspections. It is not uncommon for them to be used on a regular basis.